All change on the buses

Arriva West Midlands has announced plans to alter and re-number 18 of its services under a new rebranded "Chase Linx" timetable.

All 66 buses in the fleet are also set to be refurbished with the installation of CCTV and improved seating. And five new state-of-the-art energy-efficient easy-access vehicles costing £680,000 will take to the roads between Cannock and Stafford hospitals and on the Bloxwich to Wolverhampton route.

Passengers are set to be consulted on the changes which, if approved by traffic commissioners, will come into force on September 2.

Under the revised schedule, services between Cannock and Walsall and Cannock and Wolverhampton would run every 20 minutes instead of 30; and the former hourly Rugeley to Cannock service would run up to every 30 minutes.

Other changes include doubling the number of buses between Cannock, Burntwood and Lichfield on Saturdays with a service running every 30 minutes.

Despite improvements to the overall service, passengers in High Heath, Walsall, are set to lose their 360 service from Walsall to Aldridge with Arriva bosses saying it is no longer viable.

Passengers in Shoal Hill, Cannock, are also set to experience some disruption with the 875 route, which would be re-numbered as the 75, no longer set to visit the estate. Instead the number 21 route will offer the same hourly servivce.

Keith Myatt, spokesman for Arriva Midlands, said: "The improvements follow a comprehensive review of bus services in the area where every single bus route was put under the microscope and assessed for its relevence to today's bus user. Many of the routes were designed some years ago."

Consultation roadshows are to take place at Cannock Shopping Centre between 10am and 3pm today and at Burntwood Library on June 19.